‘He was a great competitor’

The first time Mt. Pleasant’s Jess Settles can remember meeting Chris Street was at the Athlete’s Foot in the Old Capitol Mall in Iowa City, where Street was working at the time.

“I was probably in early high school,” Settles said. “He had these certain shoes on; he was walking around the store in them. I bought those shoes just because he was wearing them.”

Over the next few years, Street grew into a role model for Settles, leading him not only to choose those shoes, but to choose the University of Iowa.

“When I was getting ready to go to college, I was hesitant — it’s such a big decision,” Settles remembers. “So I called (University of Iowa Basketball Coach) Tom Davis and asked, ‘Can I spend a day shadowing Chris (Street)?’ I wanted to ask him the tough questions.”

Settles and Street had grown closer after playing in the Iowa City Prime Time League together. Settles, his dad and his grandpa would hang out after the games with Mike and Chris Street, drinking Pepsi.

“Our families connected; we had similar upbringings,” Settles said. And as they spent more time together, Settles grew to admire Street even more, both for the person he was, and for the way he played basketball.

“He was a great competitor,” Settles said.

After shadowing Street for a day, Settles had made his college decision.

“I called Davis again and said, ‘I’m coming to Iowa.’ That’s the impact (Street) had on me.”